A shifty traveler warns a village that in three weeks’ time a giant comes to deliver ruin and convinces its leaders that he can tutor its people in besting the foul creature, for a hefty sum.
Together, with the help of the orphaned and untrusting boy he finds walking the lonely road, whom he takes under his wing, they must train a sad lot of villagers, outwit religious zealots, and navigate swelling doubts as, slowly, the village descends to madness. It is not long until the orphaned boy, too, holds doubt in the traveler’s claims.